Until The Day After Forever
by QuartzApple
Summary: It definitely wasn't a match made in heaven. Actually, it was pretty close to the opposite: babysitting teenagers with the most disagreeable jounin in Konoha was as close to Hell as possible for Iruka. Unfortunately, his heart has other ideas. Yaoi.
1. Carrying On

**Until The Day After Forever – Chapter 1: Carrying On**

***cough* I didn't post this early because I'm a dirty liar *cough***

**A/N: And, with the demise of my beloved fanfiction 'The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn', a new bird rises from the ashes – this time for real. I can't stop writing for KakaIru. This pairing has stolen my soul, seriously. It was pretty much my first pairing that I ever got into, so it has a very special place in my heart, therefore I feel the need to write very long stories displaying my addiction to this romance. To all of you who are new to my writing, hello, I am QuartzApple and I will be your author, pornographer and drug dealer for the next several months. Just to confirm that you're in here for the long haul. My last fic lasted for 100 chapters, was over 200,000 words long and got in excess of 1,000 reviews. The fic before that was 30 chapters long and over 60,000 words. So, newbie people, I like to write long stories. Be assured that there will be smutty smut in here, because I also believe that if you're going to market your story as yaoi you should bloody well give us the payout and show the sex. However, I also believe in good writing and good plotting, both of which I do. I have this entire fanfiction plotted out, and I know that my writing is at the very least passable. I'm not Jane Austen, but I think I'll do for fanfiction. To all my readers who know/know of me, welcome back, and welcome to my newest fanfic. I hope you enjoy this one as much as the other(s). Favourite, follow, whatever. I like to do a song per chapter, so the song of the chapter is 'Bad Day' by Daniel Powter. Now, kids, let's play a lesson in understanding other people's points of view! **

_This is thinking/dreaming._

"_Anything in italics and quotes is written stuff."_

This is regular story.

**This is author's note.**

**This is title.**

**NOTE ON THE AU: This is ninjaverse/naruverse/canonverse/whatever you like to call the actual world the anime and manga take place in. However, it is somewhat AU. Pretty much everything is the same, but I'm taking the plot in a more yaoi-ish direction. There is major diversion from the canon plot, but it's still all acceptable and plausible, so don't worry about random OCs showing up to wreak havoc or the main cast turning into vampires for no apparent reason or whatever. That ain't gonna happen. I've written slightly-AU ninjaverse before and canon ninjaverse before, so I (probably) know what I'm doing. **

**Warnings: This story is a yaoi fanfiction. In case you don't know what that means, which I highly doubt, that means this story is about homosexual relationships with graphic sexual content. I'm not warning you for the gay content – I'm warning you for the sex. That isn't to say there will be no plot. I like having plots. I enjoy writing plotful stories. Therefore you're getting plot with porn thrown in, because I also like writing porn. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo, or so I hear. I don't know much about that shit, but don't sue me for writing fanfiction. I'm pretty sure I'm not breaking any laws by writing this. Don't sue me.**

oO..Oo..oO..Oo

_You stand in the line just to hit a new low,_

_You're faking a smile with the coffee to go,_

_You tell me your life's been way off line,_

_You're falling to pieces every time_

_And I don't need no carryin' on_

oO..Oo..oO..Oo

They day obstinately refused to go right. First, there was no milk left in the refrigerator. Then I couldn't find a clean shirt, so I had to dig the least-worn one out of the laundry basket, rolling the cuffs up to hide the stains. Then I managed to drop a bowl, creating a horrible mess all over the floor that I didn't have time to clean up before work, and there was no way I could be late.

Things finally settled down when I arrived. It was a very ordinary day at the missions desk. The line of jounin waiting to hand in reports was fairly small, but the air inside the room hung heavily with the heat of late summer. At this time of year, working any desk anywhere inside was the worst job possible with the possible exception of teaching overexcited, fidgety pre-genin. It was a miracle the Academy didn't spontaneously combust. Fortunately, we were between terms, so I wasn't needed for a few weeks.

"Next!" I said wearily, tired smile still lingering on my lips, eyes drifting towards the door. Just a few more reports, then I could go home and not move for the next several hours. It was too hot to do anything else. I tugged at the collar of my shirt as another report fell on the desk in front of me, the ninja to whom it belonged escaping before I could ask any questions.

That, of course, was the smart way to go about dropping off a report. There were a number of incredibly stupid ways to drop off a mission report and much to my dismay the veritable _master_ of abysmal reports was next in line.

As soon as he realised I was looking he stepped forward, visible eye curving into a smile to match my growing frown.

"Yo, Iruka-sensei!" Kakashi Hatake called, despite our proximity. I tried my hardest not to grimace. It wasn't that I didn't like him; more that we just never really got along. We never managed to see things quite eye to eye on the few times we were forced to interact.

"Good afternoon, Hatake-san," I said stiffly, looking up.

"Just call me Kakashi," He replied. Messy, side swept hair, hands shoved deeply into pockets and a posture that would kill the back of any normal human being. One hand slowly rose to scratch the side of his face hidden by his ridiculous mask.

"We aren't friends, Hatake-san; therefore I'm uncomfortable addressing you personally," I scooted my chair forwards a little, sitting up straighter. Something about his overly casual appearance prompted me to be as stiff and as formal as possible, just to be different. It was childish and contrary, but at least it was proper.

"Maa, everyone else does-"

"Do you have a report or not?" I raised an eyebrow as it appeared in his previously empty hands. He let it go, my eyes following it as it fluttered to rest on the surface of the desk. Closer up, it was very apparent that this was yet another masterpiece. "This is not a report,"

"What is it, then?" He asked. My fingers contracted into fists under the table.

"About three sentences surrounded by childish drawings. Your handwriting is illegible, you've written in barely any detail, and it's covered in-" I waved my hand over the slowly drying wet patch that took up most of the corner, carefully avoiding making contact with it. "-whatever this is. How is anyone supposed to log this? It's completely unacceptable. Re-do it,"

"But Iruka-" He started, but I refused to let him finish.

Somewhere in my brain, I registered how unreasonable I was probably being. This was pretty standard behaviour from him, and it wasn't like I got perfect reports from absolutely everyone. For all I knew, nothing had happened on the mission, hence it warranted only three lines. Maybe the doodles were illustrations of exactly what had happened. Even so, I couldn't honestly let something like that go into the archives.

"No arguing, Hatake-san! I want this report done properly and handed in tomorrow!" I snapped. "Next!" I called, hoping to get rid of him, only for my hopes to be shattered once it became apparent that everyone else in the room had cleared to the sides to watch the unfolding argument.

"Or what, I'll have to stay behind after class for a stern talking to?" I didn't have to see his face to know he was grinning, and that was the final straw. I stood up, hands colliding with the surface of the desk and sending papers skittering to the ground. It would take ages to re-order those reports, but I wasn't thinking straight any more.

"Exactly! If you're prepared to behave like a pre-genin, you can expect to be treated like one!" I barked, mentally cursing myself for making such a mess. It was just another list of things I'd have to fix later; if this carried on I'd be fixing the furniture, too. "Honestly, just because you're a jounin doesn't mean you can-"

"Actually, it kind of does," He drawled in reply, tipping his head to the side. Silver spikes rearranged themselves with maddening ease.

I took a deep breath. There wasn't any point in arguing. I was just feeling irritable. I should have just accepted the report with a smile and added it to the pile of reports to be archived. But instead, I just _had_ to fly off the handle. It was irrational, stupid, and a waste of time, but it felt good to vent. It was a little bit more weight off my shoulders. Besides, the likelihood of seeing the famous Kakashi Hatake outside of official buildings was very slim, so I could avoid him if necessary. It wasn't like I _wanted_ to spend time with him, considering his unnatural ability to set me off for no reason.

"No it doesn't! What part of 'responsible adult' didn't you understand upon accepting your position?" I took another dig at him, watching as the loose line of his shoulders stiffened. Evidently, I had touched a nerve.

"I didn't-"

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you two," Kotetsu announced from the doorway, diffusing any tension. The other people in the room seemed to radiate back into the middle of the room, waiting to deposit their almost certainly superior reports to much less tetchy chuunin.

"About what?" Kakashi asked as he turned his back on me.

My shoulders fell forward as I leaned heavily on my arms, a nearly silent sigh escaping my lips, conveniently covered by the growing babble in the room. Thank the gods Kotetsu arrived when he did. I didn't need to accidentally murder anyone any time soon. Or attempt to, since I would likely horrifically fail if I attempted to murder someone so distinguished. I'd probably be dead before I closed the gap between us. I was horribly outclassed and I knew it.

Not that I needed to remind myself of something so obvious. I wasn't going to do anything stupid. The day was nearly over, and then I could go home to a nice, normal evening in a comfortable chair with a book, or I could plan the next term's work for when the students returned to the academy, or I could even go to bed early. I didn't have anything to worry about. Of course, that was dependant on cleaning up the mess on my floor and sorting out any other little situations that I was veritably bound to come across today, since _nothing_ was going right.

"She didn't say. Just go to her office and try not to kill each other on the way," Kotetsu added before disappearing. We both stood still for a second, neither quite sure who was going to move first.

It would have been sensible to apologise for my harsh words right there, but I couldn't spit it out. The words formed a choking ball at the back of my throat that I couldn't manage to hack up. With a forced smile, I peeled my hands off the desk and walked out from behind it, only to pause before I really got anywhere.

"Are we going?" He said slowly, noting my pause. I nodded once and strode forward, overtaking him, only for him to catch up effortlessly. Infuriatingly, his casual stroll was enough to keep pace with my irritable strides.

Whatever the Hokage had to say to us couldn't possibly make it worse.

oO..Oo..oO..Oo

**A/N: Yes, I really do love writing authors notes. Um, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, feel free to drop me a review that I will definitely reply to because I love you, and please feel free to tell me I suck if you really want. I like writing super mega bitchy Iruka, but…surprise, surprise! It isn't' completely random! I'm one of those writers that like to write plots, so give me a couple of chapters to get around this, okay? Good :D I'll see you in the next chapter. Or in the PM page. After I reply to your review, y'know. **


	2. Kind of Busy

**Until The Day After Forever – Chapter 2: Kind of Busy**

**A/N: Wow, it has been a long time since the first chapter was posted. But fear not, this wasn't just some random part one of a fic that will never be written, because I'm writing it. I am literally in the process of writing more of this fic now. I have just been very busy lately. My main fic is very, very, very nearly finished (like, as of the original post date of this chapter, I have only one more chapter and the epilogue to write) so I'm starting to think more seriously on this fic. I am pretty sure it won't be as long as 'The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn', but it's going to be over fifty thousand words, if everything goes according to plan. And yes, there is a plan. I like to plan. I planned out TGTYEL, and I have planned out this fic, and I will plan out whatever future fics I write because that's just how my creative process works. But yeah, I'm not going to even predict an update schedule because my life is incredibly unpredictable at the moment, but I doubt there will be any updates until August. I need to finish TGTYEL before I can think about polishing up chapter three, and then I can start on this seriously. I am, however, working throughout all of August, so I will write when I can. Work, as I'm sure you know, is tiring and at times stressful, which is not conducive to writing. Then I'm back to school for my final year in September, when all hell breaks loose and I have even more shit to do that I do normally. So yeah, no update schedule for a while, because I'm lazy and busy, no matter how much of a paradox that may be. Anyway, song of the chapter is 'Telephone' by Lady GaGa. Somehow.**

_This is thinking/dreaming._

"_Anything in italics and quotes is written stuff."_

This is regular story.

**This is author's note.**

**This is title.**

**Warnings: Nothing, really to warn you for here. No sex, no real language warnings – though I suppose I should warn you about my British spellings and my occasional British swearing, because I prefer 'bloody hell' over a lot of other profanities. So yeah, if the characters go all British of a sudden, it's my fault. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, I have no affiliation or claim to the anime, manga or any associated products, and I make no money from this fanfiction. As per the agreement I clicked on upon uploading this story, I can't claim anything bla bla bla you know the drill, I'm sure.**

oO..Oo..oO..Oo

_Stop calling, stop calling_

_I don't wanna think anymore_

_I left my head and my heart on the dance floor_

_Stop calling, stop calling_

_I don't wanna talk anymore_

_I left my head and my heart on the dance floor. _

oO..Oo..oO..Oo

The length of the corridor seemed to inexplicably and exponentially shorten, the door to the Hokage's office coming closer and closer. I virtually marched the whole way there in an immature attempt to stay ahead of Kakashi, but no matter how quickly I walked he managed to keep up while maintaining an infuriatingly casual gait, shoulders slumped and hands in pockets. I fixed my eyes on the door.

I reached it first, much to my childish pleasure. Before I could raise a fist to knock, it swung inwards, revealing the Hokage, eyes narrowed and a sour expression painting her face. My stomach instantly dropped; whatever she wanted us for, it couldn't be good.

"You're both here? Both in one piece? Good," she said briskly. She turned on her heel and walked further into the room, striding towards a door set in one of the side walls. Her fist collided with it three times, each very loud bang making me wince. "What I'm about to reveal is classified as well as highly sensitive, so I expect appropriate behaviour from both of you. Naruto!"

I frowned at her implications; we weren't _children_. But I didn't say anything. I wasn't about to argue back, partly out of respect, partly out of a desire to get home as soon as possible. I could feel my head begin to throb. I inwardly groaned at the oncoming headache; yet another irritation to deal with.

"Yeah?" a familiar voice replied. My ears perked up; Naruto was back?

"Get out here now, brat!" Tsunade yelled, banging on the door again.

"I'm not leaving him!"

One of my eyebrows rose; leave who? What was behind that door? I stepped forward again, moving closer to the door in the hopes of hearing something, anything that might give me a clue. I couldn't help but feel happier, more alive again knowing Naruto was back. That was just a part of what he _did_ when he was around; it was almost impossible to be gloomy in his presence.

Then I reminded myself that the reason I was in this office with a yelling Hokage, a silently bored Kakashi and a mysterious door probably wasn't anything to be happy about. My spirits dropped a little.

"That's an order from your Hokage!" Tsunade ordered, still rapping on the door. "I want you to speak to Kakashi and Iruka!"

"Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei are here? Why don't you just send them in?" The door cracked open, and Naruto's head appeared around it. Tousled blond hair and bright blue eyes greeted me, a wide grin splitting his face, though I didn't miss the tell-tale signs of tiredness around his eyes.

"You know why, and you could explain it if you came out here! He's not going to die if you leave him for two seconds!" The Hokage responded. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Naruto, though her tone softened.

"Yeah, but he might wake up if I leave him for two seconds!" Naruto pouted.

"Why don't we just go to him instead?" A drawl came from behind me. I almost jumped. I hadn't realised Kakashi had been so close behind me, though it was testament to how exhausted and fed up I was feeling. I should have noticed him. Internally, I kicked myself for being so unacceptably off my guard.

"Follow me," she faced us again, tired command in her voice. My brow creased as I wondered how long she had been up here, dealing with a petulant Naruto and whoever else. The very thought sent shivers down my spine; it made my job look calm and stress-free in comparison. "Don't do anything rash. Don't make any loud noises, don't make any sudden movements, don't provoke Naruto, and don't argue. We're trying to keep everything as calm and quiet as possible,"

"Why?" I asked, stepping forward.

"You'll see. Don't do anything stupid, either," she opened the door and walked through. We both followed her, moving into a brightly lit room. Two beds occupied the cramped space, a table of medical supplies wedged between them. A few chairs were stacked at the side, blocking a bookcase, a vase of flowers perched precariously on top to make way for the makeshift hospital room.

"Naruto? What happened? Did you-" What drew my eyes instantly was the figure lying still in the far bed. Dark spines of hair spilled like ink over the pristinely white pillow beneath it. Skin almost as white as the sheets, marred in places with cuts and purple bruising, only served to make the bed's occupant look sick and fragile. I wanted to feel sympathy for the boy lying in the bed, but it was very difficult to. Sasuke Uchiha was back. "Oh,"

"I brought him back!" Naruto beamed, casting sunny smiles at the three of us, then at the sleeping boy in the bed. It was hard not to return the bright smile. He practically radiated happiness, and it was catching. I wasn't sure whether I should smile in return, or if I should stay as blank as I could until I knew more about the situation.

I opted for smiling. Whatever made Naruto happy couldn't be that bad. There had to be some explanation for all this.

"I think 'beat him half to death and then dragged him back' is more applicable," Tsunade corrected him with a smile of her own.

"He isn't _that_ bad," Naruto protested, then paused. A hint of regret tinged his expression as his eyes fixed on Sasuke's unmoving form. The sheet covered most of his body, so it was hard to judge how badly injured he was, but judging by his face alone it looked like he had taken a real beating. "I didn't want to hurt him, but he wouldn't stop…"

"Naruto was in worse condition when they arrived three days ago," my head snapped towards Tsunade, who spoke softly. Naruto didn't appear to hear. His fingers twitched once, like he was unsure what to do with his hands, but his eyes remained locked on Sasuke.

"Three days ago? Why wasn't I told about this earlier?" I repeated incredulously, words finally filtering through my tired mind. My head throbbed just a little harder.

"They were both unconscious until a few hours ago. Now Naruto's awake and remarkably perkier, I thought it might be a good idea to-"

"_Three days_? It took you three days to regain consciousness? And since when was rescuing Sasuke a major priority of Konoha?" I yelped. How had I missed this? Guilt tore at my mind; I hadn't once checked up on Naruto or even asked about him. What if he had woken up alone and confused – he didn't really like hospitals, no one did, but I should have been there. It wasn't right that-

"Since he was spotted near the border a week ago-" Tsunade began again, only for me to interrupt her.

"_A week ago_? Why wasn't anyone told about this?" My voice rose and octave in disbelief. Okay, this was getting ridiculous. How the hell had I managed to miss so much?

"I was," Kakashi pitched in. I threw a dirty look towards him.

"You don't count-"

"Both of you shut up! I didn't bring you here to bicker; I brought us all together to discuss what we're going to do with Sasuke when he wakes up," Tsunade's voice rose above both of ours. I focused on her again, trying to calm myself. It wouldn't help anyone if I was angry.

"Huh? What do you mean, what will we do?" Naruto said, scratching his head.

"Since he didn't come willingly-" Naruto began to say something, but she raised her hand to stop him. "-and no, unconscious on your back is _not_ willingly, I'm putting him on temporary probation. That means I want him under constant supervision, which where these two come in. For the next two months, they're going to be watching Sasuke's every move,"

"Then they'll be watching mine too, since I'm not leaving him for a second!" Naruto said loudly. He still stood protectively between us and the bed Sasuke lay on, one hand tangled in the sterile white bedding. It wasn't clear what he was protecting the other boy from, exactly, but the gesture was clearly subconscious.

"Fine! I don't care, as long as the Uchiha is being watched by Kakashi or Iruka! See, I'm being nice here, letting your favourite teachers watch over you instead of some faceless ANBU, so be grateful!"

"Thanks, Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto chirped, grinning impossibly wildly. He glanced behind him, blue eyes tracing the sleeping form tucked under the blankets. It would have been sweet, if Sasuke wasn't, well, _Sasuke_.

"Don't we get any say in this?" I said shortly.

"Nope," Kakashi replied. I shot him a glare, trying to project as much sort-of-unwarranted hostility towards him as possible without actually saying anything. I wasn't going to dig myself into a hole that way.

"Think of it as a mission, Iruka," Tsunade's hands found her hips, her tone of voice unquestionable. "Which is basically is, since I'm ordering you to do it,"

"So what are the specifics? Do you want to take the days while I take nights, or would you prefer shorter shifts?" Kakashi spoke up.

"I can manage long shifts-" I huffed, annoyed that he thought I needed shorter shifts. Just because he was more accomplished didn't mean that I needed special dispensation for routine things that I could cope with perfectly well. There was _no way_ I was going to accept something like-

"Actually, you'll be sleeping here, Kakashi, at least until Sasuke wakes up," "Naruto's going to live temporarily with you, Iruka. I don't trust the brat not to try and sneak off with his little boyfriend the second your backs are turned, so separating them at night should reduce the probability of that happening,"

"He's not my boyfriend," a sleepy voice mumbled. All eyes snapped to Sasuke's prone form, yet no one quite managed to look him in the eye. Although I couldn't help but feel anger and resentment towards him for what he put Naruto through, I still felt happiness rising in my chest that he was okay.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Naruto cried excitedly, jumping onto the bed and tackle-hugging Sasuke.

"You're – squashing me – idiot!" Sasuke protested, limply flailing an arm, although it seemed a little half-hearted. Naruto didn't stop; instead, he buried his face in Sasuke's neck, wrapping his arms around the other boy's torso and squeezing tightly. Sasuke winced in pain, refusing to vocalise any discomfort.

I couldn't help but smile at the display of affection; no matter what had happened, Naruto was still Naruto.

"Hey, hey, you've already injured him enough. Calm down," Kakashi said. He hooked his fingers under the collar of Naruto's jacket, tugging him none too gently off the other boy, depositing him on the floor.

"Shut up and let me go back to sleep," grumbled Sasuke, glaring pointedly at Naruto.

"But they're talking about us! Just stay awake for a couple more minutes!"

"I don't really want to hear the details of my execution, so-" Sasuke started, but Tsunade quickly cut him off.

"We aren't executing you. Instead, you've been assigned two supervisors for the next two months to watch you both night and day," she explained briefly, before turning to us. "Go home and get some rest. You've got a busy two months ahead of you,"

oO..Oo..oO..Oo

**A/N: So um I think this chapter was pretty shit. Next one will be better, I promise. Although it tells you basically the plot of the entire first part of this fic – oh, did I mention that? It's in two parts. Part one, where [spoiler spoiler spoiler] happens, then part two where [spoiler spoiler spoiler] happens. And oh my god this is late and I'm sorry. I promise it won't be two months until the next update. I'm not normally this slow. Um…read and review!**


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